They're letting people host fantasy drafts in NFL stadiums now

Members of the Murderball Solutions fantasy league pose with Chiefs GM John Dorsey (Photo courtesy of Kansas City Chiefs)

KANSAS CITY — It’s a dreary but warm day in Kansas City. Dozens of men, and yes, they’re almost all men, line up outside the entrance to Arrowhead Stadium. They clutch clipboards, laptop bags, pens and pencils. About 50% are wearing Chiefs jerseys and shorts. Some wear suits. A few wear suits with Chiefs jerseys.

They are all here to draft imaginary football teams.

For the second year in a row, the Kansas City Chiefs invited fans to Arrowhead Stadium to host their fantasy drafts in the stadium’s luxury suites. Season-ticket holders had first crack at the suites to host their drafts, but anyone can come.

On Monday, the Chiefs rolled out the red carpet, too. A collection of cheerleaders stood outside the entrance to Arrowhead, along with a 6-man drumline. They form a sort of tunnel that people are supposed to enter through, but fans seem confused and enter the building from all angles, causing some of the cheerleaders to abandon the tunnel formation and fan out. A couple of the cheerleaders talk to the guys and asks if they’re excited to draft, but the rest of them just ruffle their pom poms and smile into the middle distance.

More than 33 million people will play fantasy football this year, according to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association. Around 80% of those participants will be male, a fact that’s reflected in the makeup of the people congregating outside the entrance to the stadium.

The Chiefs place the fans in different suites surrounding the field for the draft. Some groups have brought massive trophies for their league. One guy has a silver championship belt he brandishes proudly. Some of the fans are season ticket holders but many are just fans of the team. For many of them, it’s their first time setting foot inside the suites.

For the Chiefs, it represents an opportunity to tap into the growing fantasy football hysteria, as well as connect with some fans who might not otherwise get to see this side of Arrowhead.

“In my career, looking at the participants in fantasy football, it’s nearly doubled,” says Chiefs general manager John Dorsey. “It goes to show you that the National Football League has got something pretty good going. And to welcome people here in this great venue, it’s a neat concept.”

In Suite 245, a group of 12 men who comprise the Murderball Solutions fantasy football league gather and crack Bud Lights excitedly. They all work in sales for a tech company called eSolutions. About half of them are in Chiefs apparel. They’re here for their second straight year to host their draft, invited by Jeremy Underwood, a league member who’s a season ticket holder in section 318.

The suite is lavish, decked in plush carpet and leather seats. Flat screens hang from the walls. Over by the window, the Chiefs have provided a massive board where fantasy team owners can take stickers and post their picks to the board. The set-up of this makes an auction draft all but impossible, but the guys do straight pick ‘em, so it’s not an issue.

The first pick in the draft goes to Mindaugas Kliukevicius, who is playing his first ever year of fantasy football. The guys call him Minda.

With the first pick, Kliukevicius pauses for dramatic effect, then takes Jamaal Charles. “I have to do it!” he yells. “I am wearing the jersey!”

The draft goes like drafts go. Running backs go early. There’s a brief hubbub when Peyton Manning goes with the fourth pick, with the room split on whether or not that was a reach.

By the time the draft snakes back around to Kliukevicius, he’s in a panic.

“My app isn’t working,” he informs the group. “I spent $4.99 on this app. And it isn’t working.”

He slaps at his phone repeatedly, but can’t figure it out. He’s brought no papers, no laptop, so he’s flying blind. Flustered, he walks up and drafts Matthew Stafford about four rounds too early, and the room doesn’t even laugh. There is just embarrassed silence.

The draft gets a burst of energy when Chiefs general manager John Dorsey shows up at the suite. He shakes hands, then walks over to the draft board and pulls out a cheat sheet of picks he likes.

“Hear you guys might need some help with some picks,” Dorsey says. “I’m no good at this. Got some guys on staff who do fantasy, but I’m no good at this. Whose pick is it?”

Louis Raya raises his hand. He’s excited that Dorsey’s going to help him out, but unfortunately, the guys are deep enough in the draft that Dorsey’s cheat sheet has players that are all taken. He riddles off a few names for Raya, but he keeps saying names that are all taken.

Finally, he lands on a name that isn’t taken yet: Pierre Garcon. The problem is that Raya already has three wide receivers, but it’s clear Dorsey doesn’t have any names left, so Raya goes ahead and figures why not. He drafts Garcon and the room erupts into applause.

Raya has Dorsey sign the pick once its up on the board, and Dorsey says, “I want a picture of this. When you win, I expect a fee.”

Raya, without missing a beat, fires back: “A fee? Do you know how much I pay for tickets?”

The draft goes on. Kliukevicius finds a joke he likes, where he says that the player just drafted is in jail. For example when someone selects Wes Welker, he yells out “You fool! Welker is in jail!” He says that after most picks.

The Chiefs opened the doors to their suites to fans hosting fantasy drafts.

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